Grandma Nino

......Memory No. 1-Grandma was always cooking! Always! In my mind her days went a little something like this: wake up, start making breakfast for Grandpa Nino and one or more of my Uncles who were working in the pastures with the animals then cleaning that up and making breakfast for her grand kids! Now, since she has about 22 it was for whoever happened to be there that day, two of us or all of us we always got fed! She would send us out to the blackberry (I think they were blackberry bushes! It was a long time ago!) bushes behind the house and over the irrigation ditch to gather berries to put in the pancakes. It was probably her way of getting us out of her hair for a while so she could clean up one mess just to turn around and clean up another! Those bushes were no joke either! They were prickly, and not in the easiest place to get to. You had to balance on about an inch of dirt or fall into the irrigation ditch! But what a reward! Yummy, homemade pancakes to fill your tummy!
If she made something I didn't think I liked I would tell her "That's gross Grandma, I don't like that"! And she would calmly reply "That's just not true! Grandma doesn't make anything gross"! And its true! She is by far one of the best cooks I know! Now, as I am older and cooking for my family I regret not cooking with her more when I had the chance. I'm not too hard on myself though, I made a mean mud-pie in the ditches across the street!
Memory No.2-Whenever I was upset, or thought my parents were just not being "fair" I would sit in my room, dramatically screaming and moaning for my grandma! I remember it like it was yesterday! "I just want my Grandma" I would say. Like that was easy to get! We lived about an hour to hour and a half away from her at the time, so the chances of me getting what I wanted were slim to none! I'm sure, if Mom had her way she would have gladly sent me to her had we lived just a little bit closer! Funny how Grandma can make all your troubles fade away isn't it?

--Stephanie (see the full blog at The Reeces Blog page)